Drugs

Dependence on drugs, including cannabis, cocaine, tobacco and others, is all too common in today's world. Learning the danger signs and understanding the medical implications of drug dependence is necessary to stay clear of the many harmful effects of such habits. Consider the information provided in the following pages.

Do you have a drug addiction?
Are you using drugs at a rate that may be putting your personal and professional life in danger? Try one of the following self-assessments to evaluate whether you are at risk.

• Bellwood Health Centre
• Canadian Assembly of Narcotics Anonymous

Cases in Point
Consider this case study to appreciate the debilitating effects of drug abuse on a lawyer's professional and personal life:

• It's Only Marijuana!

Medical & Statistical Databases
The following sites offer medical and statistical information regarding drug use.

• Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse
• National Counsel on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence
• Centre For Addiction and Mental Health
• Health Canada

Treatment Centres & Resources
The following is a partial listing of centres and resources offering professional help for people with drug addictions.

• Bellwood Health Centre (www.bellwood.ca)
  This facility provides treatment to individuals from across Canada who have alcohol and drug addictions, eating disorders, gambling, sexual addictions and stress-related illnesses as well as a variety of compulsive or problematic behaviours.

• Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (www.ccsa.ca)
  CCSA is Canada's national addictions agency. It provides objective, evidence-based information and advice that will help reduce the health, social and economic harm associated with substance abuse and addictions.

• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (www.camh.net)
  This centre is a public hospital providing care for people with mental health and addiction problems. CAMH is Canada's leading teaching hospital and also offers community-based facilities offering health promotion and prevention services across the province.

• Emotions Anonymous (www.emotionsanonymous.org)
  Emotions Anonymous is built on a twelve-step program, similar to Alcoholics Anonymous. It facilitates weekly meetings for the purpose of working toward recovery from emotional difficulties.

• Homewood Health Centre (www.homewood.org)
  This centre, located in Guelph, Ontario, provides a wide range of programs dealing with mental health and addictions.

• Narcotics Anonymous (www.na.org)
  Narcotics Anonymous is an international, community-based association of recovering drug addicts that facilitates weekly meetings in over 100 countries worldwide. Local Canadian meetings can be referenced by area on this website.

• Ontario's Drug and Alcohol Registry of Treatment (www.dart.on.ca)
  DART's role is to link professional callers with a range of suitable treatment options tailored to their individual clients, and to link members of the general public with local assessment and referral, withdrawal management, and other treatment resources for themselves or someone they know.

• Renascent Treatment Centre (www.renascent.ca)
  This treatment centre offers a variety of programs for people dealing with an alcohol or drug problem. Some of the services provided include: a men's and women's residential program; an outpatient program; continued care; a family program and corporate services.

• Addiction Resource Guide [US] (www.addictionresourceguide.com)
  This site has a comprehensive directory of addiction treatment facilities.

• Betty Ford Center [US] (www.bettyfordcenter.org)
  The Betty Ford Center is a well-known rehabilitation centre which provides treatment services for alcoholism and other drug dependencies.

• Del Amo Hospital [US] (www.delamohospital.com)
  This is a private psychiatric hospital located in Southern California. It provides a wide-range of individually tailored programs such as crisis stabilization, trauma-based disorders, borderline personality disorders, eating disorders, sexual addictions, detox and mental illness.

• Dr. Koop [US] (www.drkoop.com)
  Dr. Koop offers daily consumer-friendly advice about a variety of health and wellness issues.

• Hazelden Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation Centres (www.hazelden.org)
  These centres offer programs to help people recover from alcoholism and other drug addictions. There is also a good collection of information and resources on this website.

• Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers [US] (www.lcl.org)
  This is a US based organization of attorneys and judges dedicated to assisting those in the legal profession who suffer due to various causes, including but not limited to alcohol and/or chemical addiction.

• National Counsel on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence [US] (www.ncadd.org)
  Is an organization founded to reduce the stigma and to educate people that alcoholism and other drug addictions are preventable and treatable.

I want help now
OLAP (Ontario Lawyers Assistance Program) provides one-on-one ongoing volunteer peer support and professional counselling to lawyers, judges and law students who suffer from alcohol, drug or other addictions, eating disorders, stress, burnout or mental illness. They will assist with referrals for support, assessments and counselling. If you, your partner or your spouse needs help, please call. All calls are strictly confidential. To contact the Volunteer Executive Director, call John Starzynski 1-877-584-6227. Leota Embleton, Program Manager, can be reached at 416-241-7983 or 1-877-576-6227. The OLAP 24-hour Helpline is 1-800-667-5722. For more information on OLAP and other programs that offer assistance click here.